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Population: 23,900,000Capital: PyongyangILO Core Conventions Ratified: Not a member state

There was no change in the total lack of respect for trade union rights in one of the world's most authoritarian nations. The only trade union body allowed exists to support the ruling party.

Trade union rights in law

While the Constitution guarantees freedom of association, trade union rights are virtually non-existing. A repressive system of labour control exists in the country, as the Constitution stipulates that the state shall "organise labour effectively, strengthen labour rules and fully utilise labour's working hours". All citizens of working age must work in full compliance with work discipline and working hours, and anyone that fails to carry out an assigned task properly is subject to at least five years in prison. The law also provides for the death penalty for any individual who hinders the nation's industry, trade or transport system by intentionally failing to fulfil a specific duty.

However, employees working for foreign companies can form trade unions by virtue of the Foreign Enterprise Law, which also stipulates that foreign enterprises must guarantee conditions for union activities. Still, the law contains no provisions to protect workers against employer retaliation, does not penalise employers who interfere in union matters, and fails to provide any basis to guarantee the right to collective bargaining. Activities at the inter-Korean joint Kaesong Industrial Complex are governed by a special law, which does not recognise freedom of association or the right to bargain collectively.

Trade union rights in practice and violations in 2009

Background: There was no change in the government of North Korea, which again tested its neighbours by carrying out experimental missile launches, and was met with tougher sanctions by the UN Security Council. The ailing Kim Jong-Il reportedly named his third son, Kim Jong-Un, as the next leader of the country. Although the government is responsible for assigning all jobs, the use of marginal labour – informal work for minimal remuneration – has become increasingly common, although it is prohibited by law.

Kaesong Industrial Zone – government control and no unions: Approximately 40,000 North Korean workers are making clothes, shoes, watches and other light goods in this zone, which has about 115 factories. The North Korean government selects worker representatives in Zone workplaces, subject to the approval of the South Korean company management.

Recruitment of workers to work in the Zone is controlled by the North Korean government. While article 32 of the KIC Labour Law states that workers should be paid directly in cash, in practice this does not happen. Since the Zone was opened, the North Korean government has demanded that all salaries be paid to the government, and Zone employers have acceded to this requirement. After making deductions for a government-controlled fund, the North Korean government pays the workers their salary. The continued use of this indirect payment system violates an agreement on the operation of the Zone made between the governments of North Korea and South Korea.

No freedom of association: Independent trade unions are prohibited, and the only authorised trade union organisation, the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, is controlled by the ruling party, the Korean Workers' Party. It operates according to the old "Stalinist" model of trade unions, with responsibility for mobilising workers to meet production targets and providing health, education, culture and welfare services.

Bargaining futile as government has totalitarian control: The government controls all aspects of employer-worker relations, including assigning all jobs and determining the wages. Hence there is no right to bargain collectively. Joint ventures and foreign-owned companies have to hire their employees from lists of workers vetted for their "ideological purity" and drawn up by the ruling party.